Geoffrey Fischbach III
King Geoffrey Fischbach III (783-860) was a Human man and the twenty-third King of Cartham, ruling from 820 to 840. Geoffrey was the bastard son of King Geoffrey Fischbach II and Mary Gringel, a peasant whore. He was legitimized by the Royal Council when there appeared to be no heir to the throne, as Geoffrey II's legitimate children had died by the time he deserted the kingdom in 820. After his coronation, Geoffrey began to descend into insanity, caused by, amongst other factors, multiple miscarriages and stillbirths, the deaths of his mother and his wife, and a brief uprising known as the Illusionist's uprising, in which he was he was held prisoner for half a year by a rebellious lord. His paranoia and cruelty grew out of control, culminating in the execution of King Lycidas, and the Ambersight Elf's subsequent banishment from the kingdom. He was overthrown a year later by King Lycidas and his army of Ogres, Trolls, Giants, and Goblins. Biography Early life Geoffrey was born to the prostitute Mary Gringel in 783, the bastard son of King Geoffrey Fischbach II. He was extremely close to his mother, who often told him that he was the son of a King. On August 22, 805, Geoffrey married Catrain Bald. In 820, King Geoffrey II abandoned the kingdom of Cartham, and the Royal Council scrambled to find a suitable heir, as Geoffrey's legitimate children had all died without producing heirs of their own. Geoffrey came forth, claiming to be the son of the deserter king, and was legitimized by the Royal Council so he could ascend his father's throne. King of Cartham Geoffrey did not lack ambition. Upon his coronation, he declared it was his wish to be the greatest king in the history of Cartham, a conceit certain of his friends encouraged by suggesting that one day he would be known as Geoffrey the Wise or Geoffrey the Great. Geoffrey was very active in the first decade of his reign and held a splendid court. He loved music, dancing, and masked balls, and was exceedingly fond of young beautiful women, filling the court with fair maidens from across the kingdom. Though some claim that he had as many mistresses as his father, most historians doubt this. Regardless, Geoffrey always lost interest in his lovers fairly quickly. King Geoffrey was full of schemes, boasting about his grand plans, then quickly forgetting about them in less than a moon's turn. Geoffrey boasted upon his coronation about invading islands in the Carthian Sea and adding them to Cartham's domain. After complaining of the stink of Cartham City in 825, Geoffrey wanted to build a new city of white marble on the south bank of the Gate of the Goddess. When he visited El-Umara in 830, he told the Ukha that he would build an underground canal and make the Desert of Seven Sands bloom. Nothing ever came of these grandiose schemes, as Geoffrey was changeable and grew bored with his ideas as quickly as they came to him. Geoffrey's marriage began to suffer, as he was known to keep many mistresses, and while Catrain turned a blind eye to her husband's infidelities, she objected heavily against "turning my ladies into whores". She became known for dismissing various ladies of her court without giving official reason. Geoffrey's many relationships were not the only strain on his marriage. Catrain's difficulties with childbirth played their part as well. Catrain had miscarriages in 823 and 824, and gave birth to the stillborn Princess Mary in 827. Prince William, who was born in 817, survived for only half a year. Another stillbirth had occurred the year before, and a miscarriage the year after. In 832, Princess Luanda was born two months premature and died the following year. While Geoffrey was compassionate at first, comforting Catrain in her grief, he turned suspicious in time. By 830, he decided that Catrain had been unfaithful to him, and that none of the stillbirths, miscarriages, and dead children had been his, as the Goddess would not want a bastard to sit the throne. He soon confined Catrain in the tower dungeon, and ordered that two priestesses sleep in her bed from that moment forth, to ensure she would remain faithful. The king's madness abated slightly with the birth of another son, whom he named Geoffrey, in 834. In fact, Prince Geoffrey's birth almost restored the king to his former self. This changed when Prince Geoffrey died later the same year. In a black rage, the king had the boy's wet nurse beheaded, convinced it was her fault. He soon had a change of heart, and declared that his mistress was to blame, having poisoned the young babe. Geoffrey had her entire family tortured and eventually executed. Under torture, all confessed to murdering Prince Geoffrey, though their accounts on the child's death greatly differed from one another. After this deed, however, Geoffrey changed his mind yet again. He fasted for a fortnight, and made a walk of repentance to the Temple of Seven Stars. There, he prayed with a high priestess. When he returned, he announced that he would remain true to his wife and marital vows henceforth. From that day in 835, King Geoffrey Fischbach III lost interest in all other women. In 836, Catrain gave birth to a son named Asher. While the child was healthy enough, Geoffrey was paranoid about the boy's safety. Crownguard knights were ordered to stand over the babe, day and night. No one, not even Queen Catrain, was allowed to be alone with Asher. Gifts that came from all over the realm for the new prince were piled up in the courtyard and burned on Geoffrey's orders, as the king feared they might be cursed. When Catrain's milk dried up, Geoffrey made his own food taster suckle on the nipples of the wet nurse, to ensure there was no poison on them. Illusionist's uprising Even though he was legitimized by the Royal Council, there were many in Cartham who opposed his rule. Illusion magic began to run rampant in the kingdom, further distorting Geoffrey's already fragile state of mind. Lord Dorian Barthelemy desired to win a charter for his lands, which would give him more autonomy from the crown. He made his proposal to the crown in 837 and was refused by the Royal Council. However, Lord Dorian would not give up so easily. Having noticed the deteriorating relationship between Geoffrey and the Council, Lord Dorian decided to withhold his payments to the crown, and instead invited the king to his castle to hear his petition for a new charter. While Geoffrey had intended to decline the invitation, the king changed his mind when the Council advised him to refuse in the strongest possible terms. Eager to demonstrate his ability to handle the situation himself, Geoffrey decided to settle the issue personally and bring the defiant Lord Barthelemy to heel. Geoffrey traveled to Barthelemy's keep taking a small task force led by the High Captain of the Royal Guard, against the Council's advice. The invitation proved to be a trap, however, and Geoffrey walked right into it. Some of his escort, including the High Captain, were killed trying to defend their king, and Geoffrey was taken prisoner. Outrage was the response to the news of Geoffrey's capture. It fell to the Council to resolved the crisis. The Council massed an army and laid siege to the village in what became known as the Illusionist's uprising. The situation remained in a stalemate for several months, with Lord Dorian threatening to execute the king at the first sign that the army intended to storm the village. In the end, it was Sir Humfrye Reynolds who staged the daring infiltration and managed to rescue the king. Lord Dorian immediately surrendered and begged for mercy, but in his fury Geoffrey immediately had him beheaded. His rage not sated, the king next ordered House Barthelemy utterly destroyed, along with another noble house that had sided with them. Every last member of both families were tortured at excruciating length before being burned alive. Following the Uprising The Illusionist's uprising plunged Geoffrey deeper into his descent into madness. Deeply shaken by his imprisonment and the illusions he was subjected to in Lord Dorian's dungeons, he refused to leave the Royal Castle for the next three years. His jealous and suspicious nature deepened into paranoia and eventually outright delusions, seeing evidence of treachery everywhere. He refused to meet with the Royal Council unless all senior members of the Royal Guard were present. Fearing a coup by the Ambersight Elves, Geoffrey ordered the head of King Lycidas of Labhruinn. When the execution proved unsuccessful, Geoffrey banished Lycidas from the kingdom. His paranoia and hysterical madness ever deepening, he grew brutal and capricious. Geoffrey took special pleasure in burning alleged traitors alive, rather than hangings and beheadings. While he and his wife had slept in separate chambers for some years and avoided each other by day as well, Geoffrey would always claim his marriage rights after such an execution, brutally abusing his wife in bed. Though he was mad and cruel toward those he deemed his enemies, he was lavish with wealth and titles to those who enjoyed his trust. Geoffrey's first public appearance since the uprising occurred in 838, at a tourney celebrating the birth of his grandson, Geoffrey Fischbach IV. Geoffrey hoped his presence would win back the love of his people. If that was his intention, it backfired horrifically. Since the uprising, the king had not taken care of his appearance. His fear of blades meant he would not permit his hair to be cut, or his nails to be groomed. His hair and beard were unwashed, matted, and tangled, and his nails were yellow and several inches in length. His fear and paranoia of poison had made him thin and gaunt. The lords and knights at the tourney were appalled at what their monarch had become. Nor was his behavior that of a sane man, going from mirth to melancholy at the snap of the fingers. His bouts of hysterical laughter, long silences, sudden rages, and constant weeping made all present weary. Return to obscurity In 840, Lycidas returned to lay siege upon Cartham City. While the city was under attack, Geoffrey refused to fight, preferring to pray to the Goddess to save him and his people. He was ousted and the kingdom fell to Lycidas and the Ambersight Elves. Geoffrey lived the final twenty years of his life in obscurity, exiled by his son Frederick Fischbach II, who regained the throne after slaying Lycidas eight years later. Physical appearance In his youth, while not being the most intelligent, nor the most diligent, he was described as having an undeniable charm. However, by the end of his life, Geoffrey's madness had taken a serious toll on his appearance, so that he looked far older than he truly was. He ate little and became gaunt as a result of his fear of poison. In addition to his fear of poison, Geoffrey also forbade any sharp implements in his presence other than the swords of the Crownguard, refusing to even trim his nails or hair. His fingernails grew into cracked claws several inches long. His beard was matted and unwashed and his hair hung down to his waist in wild tangles. Personality & traits In his youth, Geoffrey was generous, handsome, and resolute, although somewhat quick to anger. He was also vain, proud, and changeable, traits that made him easy prey for lickspittles and flatterers. As he grew older, Geoffrey became increasingly jealous, suspicious, and cruel, and was prone to furious outbursts. After the Illusionist's uprising, these characteristics became more pronounced. He began to see every unexplained event or act of minor defiance as evidence of fearful conspiracies against him, and devised sadistic punishments for those he imagined to be his enemies. His marriage became sexually abusive late in his reign, causing the death of his wife Catrain in 837. Category:Characters Category:Males Category:Humans Category:Royal Family of Cartham Category:Kings Category:Married Individuals Category:Assassinated Individuals Category:8th century births Category:9th century deaths Category:Bastards